Angel in the Centerfold
by GreyEyesGlaringAtShonda
Summary: Isobel Stevens grew up in a trailer park, with a crazy mother and a life full of secrets. This is her story. chapter 6 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**The Angel in the Centerfold**

By **greyeyedgirl**

Summary: Isobel Stevens always knew she was pretty. She knew it sounded stereotyped, ridiculous, but she couldn't help thinking being pretty wasn't as easy as it seemed.

A/N: I've only wrote one Izzie fic, chapter 1 of "Life is Never Black and White." I think she is an extremely subtle, complex, beautiful character, though, and I really like writing her. She makes for some really beautiful stories. : )

Disclaimer: Seriously? _Seriously?_

BTW, this is basically Izzie's life story, and the last chapter will be what her life is like now (the way she is on GA. Basically we'll get some Izzie/Denny or Izzie/Alex, depending on what occurs on tomorrow's episode ("The Band-Aid Covers the Bullet Hole." Oh, lol, and "Angel in the Centerfold" is the name of a song from a long time ago, my mom mentioned it to me. : ) )

chapter one-"Wild Thing"

Isobel stood in the bathroom of her small Washington high school, her hair falling down her back in large, sweaty clumps. Her face was dark and tanned, but it was fake, her foundation blended carefully into every small crease of her face. The black eyeliner accentuated her dark, entrancing eyes, smudged in one small tiny place in the corner from perspiration.The door to the bathroom swung open, and 3 sweaty, red-faced girls strode in, one of them adjusting her black spandex shorts.

"God, that was hell," said one voice, the blonde girl who had fixed her gym shorts. "10 minutes of _sprinting?"_

Izzie avoided their gaze, whipping the tight hair-tie from her wrist and wrapping her shining dark-white blonde hair back into its ponytail. She stared into the mirror for a few more seconds, watching her subtle movements in the reflection. She was always a little thrown by how different she looked with her make-up on, still pretty, yes, very pretty, but very different from the face she looked into when she first got up in the morning. Isobel had carefully examined the girls at her high school, and came to a conclusion-the teenagers didn't seem to care if they looked prettier or not with layers and layers of color applied, their goal seemed more to be to prove that they were wearing make-up, that they could, that they had not simply rolled out of bed in the morning and made their way to school.

Izzie looked into her reflection and saw the truth. The make-up was a mask, the desperation of a change in looks a disguise, one girls were desperate to hide behind. She knew herself was doing it, knew she didn't need make-up to be pretty, knew she was quite as stunning with a dash of blush and lipstick as she was with foundation, mascara, and lip liner. The problem was, she didn't care.

"We should get back." The blonde girl seemed to be continuing in her speech, Izzie found she had tuned out. The two girls that had followed her in nodded, one rolling her eyes, the other snapping her gun boredly. "Why?" Said one, "Maxwell won't notice we're gone."

"Yes, she will," Cynthia Baker said, still staring at her face in the mirror. "Come on," she said, leading the girls back to gym class.

Izzie remained in the bathroom, leaning against the bathroom wall, feeling her heart rate return to normal. She'd seen the way the girls ignored her, seen the snobby glance one had shot her as she played with her hair. Izzie hated these girls, ones who judged without knowing, came to illogical conclusions without any basic evidentiary support.

She should get back too, she knew. Mrs. Maxwell didn't pay attention to which girls left after they were done with their warm-up run, but eventually someone would mention something, or she'd look down at her clipboard and realize who was missing. She sighed one last time, tightening her ponytail, wiping the smeared eyeliner off of her face.

"That's stupid, that's not even funny, that's-"

"That's dirty!"

The group of girls broke into giggles, their faces turning pink and reflecting off the sparkling white lunch table, stained with a dark red sauce and the wrappers from someone's straw.

"The bell's gonna ring."

Izzie looked up, relieved. "We should get going," she said, flashing a smile to one of the girls at the table. They all stood up, a couple of them still giggling, repeating private jokes in silly voices. Shoving their way past the taller students, they separated at each individual locker, Izzie trailing towards number 119. She twirled the locker com boredly. _22. 8. 22._

Izzie sighed, grabbing her copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird," easily reaching to the top shelf for a pencil. Her locker shut was a slam, and Izzie made her way to English, swerving to avoid the two people making out against the locker next to hers.

She'd seen him already that day, caught a glimpse of him coming in. The sight of him again threw her, though, her heart raced as she tried not to stare, sitting down in her seat. He was wearing that white shirt again, the one that was tight...His tanned skin contrasted against it, the mix of brown and olive making her breath tighten. His dark hair was cut short, and his greenish grey eyes seemed to catch hers for just a glimpse of a second. He was looking at her! Was he looking at her?

He was most definitely _not_ looking at her.

Izzie looked up at the board, copying down the bellwork with a glittery pink pen.

_David Michaels, David Michaels, David Michaels._

_David, David, David._

She had to stop doing this. This was weird.

She spit on the paper, tearing it carefully, before sticking them in her trash can. Her mind drifted back to the boy she'd known since kindergarten, his smile at her comment in math class making her head spin, a slightly goofy smile playing at her face. This time the words existed only in her mind...

_David J. Michaels. David J. Michaels loves Isobel M. Stevens._

Oooooh.

She _really_ had to stop this.

Izzie was knocked out of her reverie by the opening of her door, her mother had popped into her room. Her dark blonde hair lay sweaty against her shoulders, the ponytail drooping pathetically. "Did you clothes set out for tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Good. I gotta go, I'm running a little late, I overslept-"

"You better go, then."

Miss Stevens nodded quietly, looking slightly hurt. Izzie tried to smile to soften the blow. It came off like a grimace. Her mom shut the door to her room, and Izzie leaned backwards onto her bed, staring up at the dirty, dented ceiling of the trailer. She was dirty, she was pathetic, she was sick.

She sat up wearily, pulling open the drawer to her dresser. Craaaaaaap. What was she going to wear tomorrow?

Her Levi jeans looked good on her. Would David like her new Levi jeans?

_David **doesn't** like you. Get over yourself, Izzie. How many more years is it going to take before you let go of this stupid crush?_

Her pink sweater made her look fat. She felt the tears grow at this thought, her head seemed to pound from somewhere deep down. She grabbed the toothbrush from where she'd hidden it in the bookcase.

She checked to make sure her mom was gone, locked the door just in case. The trailer seemed even bigger, yet it was cramped, claustrophobic. She locked the door to the bathroom, too.

She climbed up onto the sink in front of the mirror, and stared at herself for what seemed like forever. Why did she have all that gunk on her face? What was she trying to hide? What did she care what any of them thought of her?

She slid down, taking the make-up remover from the small cupboard attached to the sink. She scrubbed and scrubbed, but had the distinct feeling she was making herself dirtier.

It was time. It was getting late, she still had her homework to do, and she wanted to watch whatever ancient MASH rerun they were playing. Izzie exhaled loudly, sitting on her knees in front of the toilet. She started with spitting on her fingers, lubricating them, stuck them down the back of her throat...

Purge.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Angel in the Centerfold**

written by greyeyedgirl

chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you for the nice reviews. I was kind of unsure of how to start this story, but don't worry, there is a definite direction. I was thinking about it and I can't believe I've been writing fanfic for almost a year, I only wrote 3 for season 1, but that's what started me off. Still unsure on a lot of things about it, and definitely not a techno-dork, but I'm starting to loooove writing the longer stories. : ) (lol, if only I could _finish_ one...) But don't worry, this is going somewhere, and I will now stop rambling so you can get on with the interesting stuff. ;D

takes place a few months after chapter 1, Izzie's a sophomore now...

"First day of school!"

"Yippee," Izzie said sarcastically, laughing. "Just two more 'first days of school,' and we're out of this hell-hole."

"Don't get me all excited," Lilly said dryly, switching her backpack from her left shoulder to her right. "Wanna go get our schedules?" She asked, opening the door to the school.

"Let's check out our locker first, make sure nothing dirty is scribbled in it...And that way, we can drop off our bags."

She saw Lilly glance at her watch and smiled, turning her head so her ponytail bounced over her shoulder. "We have 45 minutes until the bell rings. We have time. There's probably not even someone _in _the office yet."

"Why do they wait till the first day to give us our schedules?"

"Because they're idiots. Come on."

-----

Izzie's breath escaped her in one large, _woosh-_ing gesture, the world around her both exploded and faded away, and then she took her seat and everything had turned back to normal.

"Hey," Carmen said, sitting down next to her. "Thank god, I didn't know barely anybody in my first hour class, I thought I was doomed for the year."

Izzie managed a smile, she focused on pretending all her energy towards this one person. "Yeah, I had Andie so it wasn't so bad, but still, we're not that close so-"

"Yeah," Carmen said, smiling with a nod. "I know what you mean. Andie's not gonna get you through the year."

"Do you know anything about her?" Izzie asked, her voice suddenly low, averting her gaze towards the tall, skinny woman who had just walked into the room.

"Third year teaching, just graduated from State, taught at a private school for her first two years in _Olympia._"

"What's she doing _here,_ if she taught at a private school?"

Cameron shrugged, smiling mischievously. "Maybe she got fired."

Izzie blushed, grinning, starting to respond. "Cameron, you're so mean-"

The teacher brought the class to attention with a rapping noise on her desk. "Hi, everybody, welcome back to Seattle Public High School. I'm Miss Macky, you will _not_ call me Miss Wacky, and I'm your teacher for this year. I'm pretty easy-going and forgiving, but since I'm going to show _you_ respect, I expect the same from you. We're going to be reading 'Hamlet,' this year, usually that's not done until Junior or Senior year, but this is Honors English so you're a little advanced. Now, I need someone to tell me what all you read and studied last year. Yes, you, um...?"

"David. David Michaels." The tall boy cleared his throat and pulled on his sweater. "Last year we started off with reading short stories, examples would be Edgar Allen Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado' and Richard Connell's, 'The Most Dangerous Game.' We then read Shakespeare's play, 'Romeo and Juliet,' and..."

"Thank you. Let's let someone else finish, okay?" She smiled at the confident-looking boy, his face a little crestfallen. "No offense, of course, I'm sorry. I just want to get to know everybody."

The boy's face returned to it's slightly pompous smile, but there was something unsure in his eyes.

"Yes...you? What's your name?"

"Isobel Stevens. But everyone calls me Izzie." The world lit up at the beautiful blonde girl's smile. "After we finished '_The Tragedy_ of Romeo and Juliet,'" Izzie let her voice emphasize the first two words, showing _she_ knew the actual title of the play. "We went on to read two novels, William Golding's 'The Lord of the Flies,' and then, 'To Kill a Mockingbird.'"

"Did you study any poetry?"

Izzie smiled at the teacher. "No, ma'am. Well, we read 'Casey at the Bat,' but it was only for a two-day assignment, and we never went into depth..."

"Okay. That means we can get started on that a little later in the year. Thank you, Izzie."

Izzie flashed her a winning smile, but when she went to turn her head back to her desk her eyes drifted to the other side of the room. She couldn't help thinking she had imagined it, but she might have sworn she caught David's gaze, just for the split of a second.

------

"We _surviiiiiiiiiiiiived_ the first week!" The tall, flaming-haired girl came bounding into the bedroom, jumping onto Izzie and another dark-blonde haired girl lying on the bed.

"We sure did," Izzie said laughing.

"Cameron here yet?"

"Nope. She said she might be late. She spent the night at her dad's last night."

"Oh. Sooo, what are we doing? Being lazy bums lying on Lilly's bed, pondering the wonders of our existence?"

"You're half right. We're complaining about Maxwell."

"Dirty old lady. Come on, get up, stuff to do. Let's play charades."

Izzie managed a mischievous smile, sitting up on the bed. Lilly tossed her hair back with a laugh, reaching across for her paper, pens, and NYY cap. Izzie took the offered pen with a grin, biting her bottom lip in thought.

"Start off with five names each?"

"Sounds good. Remember, only teachers and kids in our year. No new kids, unless we've talked about them."

"Gotcha."

"Done."

"Done."

"And...hold on. I need someone else."

"Write down a teacher!"

"I can't think of one."

"Sarie!"

"Whhhhaaaaaaaat."

"I'll do it," Lilly said laughing, taking the last piece of paper and writing "ANDREW JENKINS," in large letters. "Come on," she said, dropping the paper in the cap. "Izzie, you're up."

Izzie flashed a smile, reaching her hand deep into the hat and rummaging around. She pulled one out and looked down at the name, and her smile slipped for only a second. She stood up, pulling on her sweater, before walking to the front of the room. She flashed them all a slightly conceited smile, stuck the floral pillow from Lilly's bed under her shirt, and waved her hand in the air wildly while clearing her throat.

"DAVID!" Came two squealing girls, rolling on the bed loudly.

"Ooooh, that's so mean, with the pillow."

"Why? He's fat!"

"He is not, Lil, he's a hottie! He's in _all_ the sports, he's a hottie."

"Sarie, ewwwwww. He likes _Star Wars._"

"_I_ like _Star Wars!_"

Lilly turned to smile at Izzie. "I know, sorry. It's just...it's _David._" She paused. "Do _you_ think he's cute?"

"Wh-what? David? Come on, we've known him since kindergarten!"

"So? Sarie likes him."

"I don't _like_ him. He's a dork. He's so sure of himself, but he's not really popular or anything. No, I don't like him. He's not really my type, I mean," Sarie said laughing.

Lilly wiggled her eyebrows. "You never answered my question, Izzie."

Izzie swallowed the vomit making it's way to her throat. "_David?_ Come on," she said, forcing a laugh. "I mean...he likes _Star Wars_!"

The girls fell on the bed laughing, Sarie waving her hand wildly in the air.


	3. Chapter 3

**Angel in the Centerfold**

by greyeyedgirl (you can email me at 3

"Izzie! Hey, Izzie!"

Isobel couldn't seem to move, her breath had stopped inside her chest, and she could feel the blood draining from her face. Slowly, she turned.

David Michaels stared down at her, a nervous smile on his face. "Hi."

"Hi," she said throatily. She quickly cleared her throat, forcing a bright smile on her face. "Hi," she repeated in her normal voice.

"You're here early."

Izzie blushed. "Yeah, well," she said. "I'm usually here about seven." David nodded, still smiling. "But hey, you're here pretty early yourself."

David grinned. "Busted." He fell into step next to her.

"So what's up?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you got the notes from our science lab. I need the data to write up my report, and I was out sick last Friday. Is there any way I could get yours? I don't want to bother Mr. Johnson about it."

"Sure," Izzie said, turning the hall with him, trying to keep her steps even. "They're in my locker, here." She fumbled the combination, forcing her mind to clench around the numbers as she twirled the lock. Stunned that somehow her hands weren't shaking, she reached into her bag, pulling out a dark blue binder. Taking out the notes, she handed them to David, trying to smile.

"Thank you," David said, looking down at the notes, nodding as if they made perfect sense, even though he couldn't have understood all of it. "I'll get these copied next hour, I have Study Hall, so I can get them back to you in time for science class, so you can turn it in. Thanks a lot."

"No problem." Izzie smiled.

"Well, I was going to ask one of my friends, but I wasn't sure if they'd have all the right notes. But I figured you must, and since you seem so nice, you'd be able to help me." He smiled slightly awkwardly.

"Sure," said Izzie, blushing.

"Well...thanks a lot. Seriously." He sent her one last grin, making her heart race, as he turned to go down the hall, leaving her to lean against her locker, her thoughts flying as she tried to focus on what had just happened.

"Cricket? I have to go to work, can you finish putting the groceries away? And the trash needs to be taken out before tomorrow morning, and you HAVE to clean your room before tomorrow, I'm serious, it's looking disgusting."

"Yeah, Mom, I'll do the chores, but I don't think I'll get my room done tonight, I have a Chemistry quiz to study for-"

"Do you think I care? You'll do what I said because I told you too."

Izzie looked up, a glare in her eye. "But Mom! I have to study, it's really important, and I really have to look over my notes before tomorrow!"

"Well, I don't care what you do as long as you do what I told you to do first. I don't have time to sit and argue with you, now get up and do what I asked. Now! Izzie!"

"I'm going. Go ahead and go, I'm fine."

"Your room better be clean when I get home."

Izzie sighed. "I have other homework, too, though. Mr. Swimmer gave us six pages in the book, and I really want to get an A+ in that class, it would be great, because I'm youngest in the class, next year I'll be able to take Calculus if I impress the teacher, and I'll be the only Junior doing it-"

"Izzie. I have to go. Clean your room."

Izzie sighed, looking up at her mother. "Fine, mom."

The tall stringy blond left the kitchen, the trailer door slamming behind her. Izzie jumped up from the stool behind the counter, slamming her Government book closed, then picking it up, throwing it against the wall, shoulders shaking.

No one else made her like this. She lived through her days on smiles, but then she came home, and her mom gave her so much anger she felt like grabbing her book and slamming someone's head with it.

She bounced slightly on her toes, grabbing for her hair to tie it back, her hands fidgeting restlessly, her fingers twitching.

She grabbed the rest of her books off the counter, carrying them to her room and dropping them on the plump mattress.

She almost ripped her jeans taking them off, grabbing her spare gym shorts from the bottom drawer of her bureau. She needed to get out of here. She needed to move.

She left the trailer at a sprint, running through paths and paths of trailer homes. She turned the corner down the dirt road, forcing her breath in check. Running was the only time she could think, the only time her body was fully allowed to move at its desired pace so she could finally focus on more important things.

She ran down Gillies Avenue, turning left to avoid the highway. Her breath was struggling now, her face red. She turned, seeing the elementary school ahead, reverting her direction back home.

This time she took the trail just behind the woods, the streets were quiet here, the trees blocking off all man-made disruptions. Izzie's breath was faltering now, coming out in large gasps. _Breathe, breathe. Just breathe._

"Izzie? Hey, IZZIE!"

Izzie's mind paused, her legs hurt as she forced them to stop, turning to see a olive-colored face even higher up than her own. "David," she managed, the gasping sound of her voice having nothing to do with her burning limbs.

"Running? You're out kind of late." David flashed her a smile. "You live around here?"

"A few blocks away. Just right of Gillies and then down MacAbner."

David nodded, before the look of comprehension came on his face, causing his words to stall. "I just wanted to thank you again for letting me use your notes last week. That was really nice."

Her mind was racing at his closeness, her breath falling back into line. "No problem," Izzie said smiling, hoping desperately her face looked dark to accentuate her eyes, not red so the blandness of her hair stuck out. Oh, crap, her hair was curling from the sweat. She must look like _hell._

"Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow. Kay?" David smiled at her, and Izzie's heart skipped a beat. "Sure," she said. She turned slowly, trying to shoot him one last smile. David's face lit up with a grin, but Izzie's back was turned, and she didn't see. Leading back up into a sprint, Izzie raced back to the trailer, all the way into her room, her muscles burning and her hair falling down her back. She collapsed on her bed, grinning up at the ceiling, her breath frantic.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," she whispered.

"A, A, I got an A!" Carmen was laughing as she entered her second hour class, sitting next to Izzie and grinning. "I love Math," she said cheerfully. "I wish we could speak in Math Language all the time, and just have everything in order, everything in its place, with a distinct formula and no misunderstandings. Just..._Math._"

Izzie smiled up at her, her dark eyes incandescent. "Math is fun," she agreed.

"Have you taken your test yet? Mid-semester exam?"

"Yesterday. I think I did well." Izzie smiled, her hands opening her binder and pulling out her bellwork sheet, grabbing her pencil from it's spot on the side.

"Did you see the sign-up sheet for 'mathletes?' I'm doing it. It'll be fun."

Izzie nodded, smiling. "You should, you're pretty good. Aren't you in the other advanced class, the one during first hour?"

"Yeah, I want to take Calculus my senior year, Mr. H said it's easier to take a refresher course first."

"Well, mathletes should help too. Did it say when the first meeting was?"

"Monday. Mr. H is heading it up, he's the one who told me about it today, he only just heard about it. He'll probably mention it to you too, when you see him later." Carmen smiled as Miss Mackey swooped into the room, a book labeled 'Just Trying To Help': Volume II of Poems That Ate Our Ears under her arm. "Class," she said firmly. "Okay, pens out, time to get to work."

"Hi, I'm Mister Hansin, welcome to JV Mathletes. There's JV and Varsity, no sophomores make varsity unless you're very, very brilliant, because it's _much_ more advanced than JV, this is just practice and will be review for most of you, but those to who it's not will find it hard at first. Only seven of you can go with me to the tournament, there's 8 rounds of 12 questions, which means-" He paused, grinning. "How many total questions is that?"

"Ninety-six." There were two voices that answered him, both female, both sounding very competitive.

"Just testing you," the laid-back teacher said, grinning teasingly, winking at the kids who answered, Izzie and Carmen. "Now, because I can only take two with me, I'm going to give you guys sort of a mini-quiz, this is just basics for now, I want to see where everyone is. The kids who don't do well, I'm going to go over this stuff when we're done, and tomorrow there'll be another quiz. If you miss it then, you're out. It'll continue like that until the end of next week, that way even if you don't get it, you have a chance to learn. Just because you bomb one test, though, doesn't mean you're cut. If I _know_ you're a good math student, I'll work with you. Does that sound fair?"

The twelve or so kids sitting around the classroom after school nodded. "Okay, let's get these quizzes out."

Izzie looked down at the paper, then smirked.

'FOIL and write in standard form

(x+9)(x-7)'

She picked up her pencil, writing 'x2 +2x-63' and circling it. The test proved fairly easy, getting harder as she turned over the sheet for the second page, as she listened to the sound of Carmen kicking her desk absentmindedly as she worked.

'Solve:

(radical x2-1)5'

Izzie wrote:

(radical x2-1)2(5)2

x2-125

1+1

x226

or - radical 26.'

"Class, remember, there's a second page if you turn it over." Mr. Hansin was grinning from the front of the room, and Izzie glanced up at him, where he was standing with a red-faced David, looking mischievous.

'Solve for the inverse

f(x)5x3-2'

Izzie bent farther over her paper, writing neatly. _Remember, switch f of x with y, THEN inverse, then remember to switch back to f of x when you're done...So it's y equals 5x cubed minus two, then inverse, then solve..._

'y5x3-2

x5y3-2

2 +2

x+2/55y3/5

cube root of x+2/5 cube root of y3

y cube root of x plus two over five'

_Inverse!_ Izzie thought to herself._ Not y, it's inverse of f of x!_ She bent over her paper, scribbling:

'cube root of x+2/5 f-1(x)'

Izzie smiled, picking up her paper, knowing she did great. She paused as she went to set it down on Hansin's desk, catching David's eye as he glanced up from his paper. She tried to smile, and David looked back down at his paper, as Izzie laid her paper neatly on top of Carmen's.


	4. Chapter 4

**Angel in the Centerfold**

chapter 4, by greyeyedgirl

AN: Sorry if this chapter is a little weird, it's Monday April third, 5 fifteen in the morning (it's my spring break, so of course I'm staying up all night :p) and I don't think my mind has gotten over the last two minutes of last night's episode yet. Sandra Oh's back and the look on Burke's face as he yelled "GET OUT!"...

Forever etched in my mind. I don't think I'm ever going to totally get over that... :D Seriously, that's like my second favorite GA moment EVERRRRRRRR:P :P :P

Izzie exited the door of Mr. Hansin's room after her sixth Mathlete's meeting, holding her notebook and binder against her chest, smiling, fresh off the math high. She was usually the last to leave, having to gather her papers together, or talking to Mr. Hansin about some abstract mathematical theory. Today was different though, and Cameron and David were both still gathering their things together as she exited the classroom. Izzie's mind seemed to be reeling, she still felt the rush she always got from learning something she knew was difficult, the pleasure of being called out for excellency in front of her peers. But today had been different, they had been discussing a lecture as they went over some basic trigonometric functions, she had been sitting in the middle like she always did, Cameron on her left and David, miraculously, on her right. Mr. Hansin had said something about relating back to the basics, reviewing back to 'SOHCOHTOA' for the freshmen and sophomores who hadn't yet learned trig. She had paused to explain something to someone who was still confused, Mr. Hansin had smiled at her, and David had leaned over to whisper something that made her giggle, her pulse racing at the feel of his breath against her face and neck. This would have made her happy enough to float out of the meeting half an hour later, but it had gotten even better. It had been...close to ten minutes afterward, she had been leaning back in her chair, relaxed, taking notes to look over later if she got bored, when Hansin had something to make David comment, and Izzie had, on a strange high of doing something she knew she was good at, gotten some form of confidence that led her to lean over to David, and whisper something clever that had related back to what he had whispered to her. His face had burned as he stared straight ahead, before he finally succumbed and looked over at her, laughing. Her body had twitched with impending attraction to him, she had felt her face glowing with a smile, and had had her body rush when his eyes lingered on hers a second too long.

The rush was still there fifteen minutes later, as she swirled the combination to her locker mindlessly. Cameron sent her a quick smile and good-bye, exiting Hansin's classroom a few yards away, heading out the exit with her bag swung over her shoulder. Izzie was just gathering together her books to put in her bag for homework, when she sensed the presence of someone watching her.

"Hey." The deep voice wasn't smooth and confident like she was used too, but with a twinge of hoarseness her ears pushed through to detect. "Hi," she responded, her heart beating rapidly, her knees seeming frozen from where she'd sat on them to put her books in her bag.

He was walking close, too close, not headed for the door but to her. "Izzie," he said quietly.

_He knows. Oh, my god, he knows. Somehow he found out. He felt me staring at him all the time. He knows, and he's either going to tell me to stop staring, or he's going to try to be nice but say there's no chance, he's going to tell everyone and even if he doesn't, he'll know and it'll be mortifying and this is the most horrible thing to ever have happened to me...---_

"Wanna ride?"

The comment threw her. She looked at him, not gaping, but rather stupidly, trying to process it. "Um," she said. "I only live just down the block."

He tried to smile. "Do you want one anyway?"

"Yes. Yeah. Sure." She tried to smile, knowing she didn't sound desperate but sick.

She took her bag, standing up, closing her locker, her brain in a fog. The math rush was gone, she doubted that, if someone asked her, she'd be able to do so much as add. Could she even count numbers?

He was heading out the other door, the door only teachers and some seniors used, the one leading to the back of the school where the track and football field were. David looked at her hesitantly, and Izzie's brain seemed to move back and forth from slow motion to bipolar manic, her limbs feeling drained and then full of energy. What was he doing to her?

They were at a truck, a nice one, gleaming red with no top lid on the back part. She was hesitant at the thought of opening the door, and he was looking at her rather quietly, not going over to the driver's side. "Izzie," he said. She stood staring, the surrealness of the situation overpowering her. He was standing very close to her, she realized she wasn't wearing her backpack but holding it, and it seemed to drop from her fingers in the moments that followed.

Her body had turned so her back was turned against the sparkly truck, his arms had wrapped around her tightly, their lips locking as he pushed her against the truck. She let out a little gasp of air, he moaned, and suddenly she broke away, staring at him, gasping for breath.

He was looking at her like no one had ever looked at her, not in a sickening way like the men at the truck stop her mother bartended at, or the interested friendliness she got from teachers. His look was _intense,_ more than attraction, more than interest, and she had never felt anything like it.

David's expression was too obscure for her to read, he didn't seem to understand it himself. There was the way his lips were tingling, the way his hands twitched, the strength in his expression overpowering her as he looked at her with a mix of green and brown in his hazel eyes. She had a flash of realism as she fought with the idea that she just _couldn't_ love him. It was stupid to think so...

Both of their brains were working overtime, it struck Izzie as odd that two of the three most brilliant in their year could be completely and utterly thrown off by the strenth-defiance of one simple kiss.

Was there such thing as a simple kiss?

"Still want that ride?" He whispered.

It was two in the morning, and Izzie was wide awake, laying on her bed right where she had dropped the second she had fell through their trailer over nine hours ago. Nine hours of laying there, no homework completed, no dinner made, not even a shower...How could someone go nine total, uninterrupted hours with one concrete thought passing through their mind? Izzie closed her eyes, pure exhaustion rocking over her body, as she felt herself finally falling asleep.

"Thiiiiissss...iiiiiisssss...booooorrrriiinnngg..." Lilly said in a monotone, chewing her gum than blowing a bubble, her chin in her hand as she laid on the carpeted floor of the bandroom. Sarai and Cameron laughed next to her, and Izzie, on the other side, remained staring at the guest speaker without taking in a word he was speaking.

It was their last class of the day, and as a 'treat,' all the sophomore band students got to listen to a 'prized conductor,' speaking about his work. They were supposed to be sitting in their chairs, but all over the band room were students scattered about on the floor, including Izzie and her posse, laying on their stomachs in the back, Izzie's legs outstretching her friend's on the floor, even bent so her feet were in the air.

"And in situations like that, were it's retardando and a crescendo up, the music has a rather interesting effect, particularly in the flutes..." Izzie continued to tune out, her mind reeling. She had seen David five times that day, and it was a sixth as she moved her eyes over to where his head was sticking up over his chair, and she felt her breath escape her throat.

"What's up with Izzie?" Lilly whispered. Cameron shrugged, and Sarai glanced at her friend, frowning slightly.


	5. Chapter 5

**Angel in the Centerfold**

chapter five

by greyeyedgirl

Izzie stood frozen outside the door of her school, staring at the figure standing in front of the wide double doors.

David turned, he caught sight of Izzie, and bowed his head, silently examining the cracks on the sidewalk.

Izzie walked forward slowly, trying to quicken her pace, but her legs didn't seem to want to cooperate. She was almost at the door, almost free, when David stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

Isobel let out a soft gasp, his sudden closeness overwhelming her, she allowed her eyes to travel up into his face, and tried not to step backwards. His eyes had that look again. That intense one he'd used when he'd held her against his father's truck.

"Are you sorry?"

Izzie forced her eyes to travel downward, avoiding David, his breath was cooling in the fall air, the sky was dark in the early stormy morning. She shook her head, slightly, and slowly.

David took a finger and raised her chin slightly, Izzie let out a small little breath of air, exhaling and inhaling in small gasps. David looked at her and shook his head too, saying so softly she could barely hear him, his words conjoined into almost one, though they were not rushed, "Meeither."

Izzie looked back down, then forced herself to step backwards and around, entering the side door of the school.

**xxxxxx**

"All right, I know there are fourteen of you here, but I'm sorry, I can only take half of you with me to the competition. I'm announcing today who all got cut and who's on the team, let's see..." Mr. Hansin cleared his throat, taking out a piece of paper from his notebook. "The 1993 JV Mathletes Team are...in no particular order...

"Carmen Johansen.

Isobel Stevens.

David Michaels.

Danielle Martin.

Megan Farmer.

Benjamin Chang,

And Robert McNeil."

Izzie turned to Carmen and grinned, who was smiling into her notebook. She felt David's eyes on her as two of his buddies came up to discuss studying together for the event, he turned away to talk to them, and the sound of laughter was heard through the classroom.

"This should be fun, huh?" Carmen asked, turning to smile. Izzie kept her mind clenched, not allowing her eyes to wander or her mind to drift. "It'll be awesome. Hey, want to quiz each other?" She held up a packet full of example questions, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah. You first, quiz me." Carmen picked up a pen and her notebook, bending her knees onto her chair just behind the desk, leaning the paper against it and chewing on her pen.

**xxxxxxxxx**

"Duh, log base 5 of 25 minus log base 3 of 81 is -2." Izzie didn't even write anything down, just stared at Carmen pityingly. "Next time give me a harder one, kay?"

Carmen smirked, sticking her tongue out, as Izzie felt something brush against her arm. Turning her head, her face burned, David had stood up and brushed against her accidentally. "Sorry," he said.

"Okay," Mr. Hansin said, standing up from his desk. "I let you guys go long today, it's almost five thirty. I'll see you back here Monday, right?"

A quiet chorus of "Yeah"s went around the room, as everyone started packing up their stuff. Carmen saw David lagging behind, and quickly stopped Mr. Hansin, pretending to have a question on something they'd talked about in class earlier. Ten minutes later she managed to escape, exiting the room to go to her locker.

She paused outside the classroom door, staring. David was standing in front of her locker, glancing half-nervously down the hall. She swore mentally for not planning this out better, she wished she could just walk right out the door, but she'd left her copy of the poetry book she needed for English sitting safely on the top shelf of her locker.

"Excuse me," she said quietly to David, as he moved so she could grab the lock. "Izzie," he said. She didn't answer, just, eventually, glanced at him, nervously.

"If you don't want anything to do with me, just say so. But I like you. And I know what I want."

Izzie paused, staring at him. "_You_ like _me?_"

He smiled, blushing. "How could anyone not like you, Iz? You're beautiful, and smart and funny..."

Izzie stared down at her books, not looking at him, but a wide grin was across her face. David saw it, and his smile grew. "Want another ride?" He asked breathlessly.

Izzie looked up at him, and he pulled her out of the school towards the backdoor, hazardly slamming her locker door behind them. Outside he pushed her smoothly against the truck again, their lips connected, and finally, what seemed like hours later, they broke apart, both gasping frantically for air. Izzie stared up into his eyes, he looked at her solemnly for a few minutes, then grinned broadly. "My parents both work," he said quietly. "They won't be back till late. Do you want to go to my house? We could study for mathletes..."

"Yeah," Izzie breathed, still trying to catch her breath. "Yeah."

**xxxx**

a/n: Really short chapter, I know. But this is going somewhere. Really. It is. David is important. David is...well...duh, just think about what we know about Izzie's past! Get it? Do you get it:D :D :D

Ooooh, you just got it, didn't you:P


	6. Chapter 6

Angel in the Centerfold

chapter six

by greyeyedgirl

Author's note: Okay, so if you haven't guessed, this story is rated R. If you are like 8 years old, do not read. If you are my English teacher, do not read. Get it? Got it?

Good.

edit: Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to roryg, the girl who reviewed until she got an update. :D Hope you like:D

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Izzie gasped for breath, feeling David's hand slide up her shirt.

"You sure?" He murmured.

"Uh huh."

His lips went up and down her stomach, she moaned as she felt his hands travel to the zipper on her pants. "Izzie, I love you," he whispered.

She had grown up hearing stories like this. Even her own father had done it. The guy came over all sweet and nice and mature, and the second you let him into your pants he tossed you aside. It was the ultimate cliche for trailer-trash, poor white America.

David wasn't trash. He wasn't poor or stupid or lazy or a drunk. He was hers.

And now his shirt was off. "Izzie..." he whispered again. She succumbed.

"Do you have a...?" She murmured.

David pulled himself off, looking at her fearfully. His eyes answered the question.

"Oh, Iz," he said. He wiped his face with his hand. He sighed, falling next to her on his back on the bed.

He slowly leaned on his side, looking at her face and smiling. "It's okay. We don't have to do that. There are...other ways for us to enjoy ourselves." He grinned. "I promise I don't have anything." He rolled onto her again, kissing her fully.

"Mmmm...when do your parents get home?"

"Late. Probably about nine-thirty. When do you have to be home?"

Izzie pulled him closer, kissing him again. "Doesn't matter."

David kissed her harder. "You sure?"

Izzie responded happily. "Yeah."

David started to laugh, lightly kissing her cheek and then her eyebrows. "Let's not worry about it yet, then."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And so, if we're going by the free enterprise system, we have to apply the price effect to this problem. Think about the elasticity of prices of computers. Anyone know the answer?"

Izzie stared blankly out the window from the back row of her Economics class, listening to the old moron in front ramble on.

"Well, if you get an expensive-I mean, fancy-computer, it's going to cost more than an older outdated one. You kids get it?"

Mr. Bradley looked out into a sea of bored, gum-chewing teenagers. "So what's the answer?" a kid in the front yelled.

Bradley sighed. "Price revenue, 695.47."

Izzie doodled "DM" on the side of her study guide and then erased it.

_BRIIIIIIIIIIIIIING._

There was a series of shuffles as kids stood up, all walking dazedly to the door.

"That moron doesn't even know what he's talking about," a short redhead complained. "I swear to God, he needs to be fcking fired."

Izzie laughed. "Jeez, Jaimie, how do you really feel?" The short girl turned to her and smirked, grinning.

x

"All right, class, get out your books. We're working on a poem today called 'The Day at the Park.' We're going to analyze it and see what we can find out what this poet was thinking."

Izzie turned to page 24 in her book, feeling David's eyes on her.

"Miss Macky? Can you explain what she means in line 10?" A girl asked. Izzie tuned out, carefully not letting her gaze meet David's.

"She's comparing the actual events of her life and using them as metaphors at the same time. It was very clever, really."

Izzie heard a couple kids let out sighs of understanding, then started fiddling with her pen.

x

"Izzie!" David's voice came out in a short burst, he cornered her outside the Mathletes meeting, taking her hand and grinning. Izzie blushed, looking down at the floor of the parking lot and grinning. "Hey," David murmured. Izzie looked away, grinning nervously.

"Do you want to go to my house? We can hang out or watch a movie or something."

Izzie turned her gaze so it was focused on David. "_Really_ watch a movie?" She blushed furiously, trying not to giggle, desperate not to sound like the girls she despised, the ones who masked under gallons of make-up and blonde hair dye, ones who gave up everything for their boyfriends, ones who made snide remarks to the trailer-park girls or who picked at 100-calorie salads at lunch time. She was _not_ a stereotype. She was Isobel Renee Stevens.

David's lips twitched, the blush in his cheeks mixing with his olive skin and making her heart race. "Yes. If you want. I want us to do whatever you want."

"Okay," Izzie said grinning, suddenly more confident, her silent pep talk reminding her of who she was, and what she could be.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'I'm here to rescue you!'

Izzie and David sat silently on David's couch, her head against his shoulder, as the Star Wars VHS played on David's VCR. David's head tipped so it was resting on hers.

"I didn't see you much today," David murmured. "Did you have a good day?"

"Uh huh," Izzie said cheerfully, her eyes glued to the screen, her feet curled up on the couch next to her. "You?"

"It was good. So what happened? Take me through your whole day. I want to know," he breathed, bending his head to kiss her cheek. Izzie's breath caught, but she tried not to show it.

"In Economics...it was boring, you know Bradley, he's so stupid...um, English was good, I really liked that poem."

"It was pretty," David agreed, grinning down at her. Izzie looked away from the screen to watch his face.

"And um...gym was normal, we're doing archery...I hit the target 5 times out of ten."

David laughed. "That's not bad for your first time."

"Two of those were the wrong target."

David laughed harder, his eyes twinkling as he watched her.

"Tech was boring, I just did a project on Excel...Science was great, I loved that lab, when I did my theoretical answer I only had a .76 error for experimental...and math and band were good, of course."

David grinned, leaning down to kiss her. Izzie felt herself surrender, leaning backwards as his lips grew more forceful.

"Izzie..." he whispered, making her pulse race. Izzie closed her eyes tightly, gasping for breath. Since when was it so hard for her to think?

"Izzie...I..." Izzie slowly broke away, breath mixed. "I've loved you for so long," he murmured, squeezing his eyes shut briefly. "So many years. You have no idea."

Izzie wrapped her arms around him, feeling his strong body push against hers.

"David..."

David slowly unzipped her jeans, feeling the soft contours of her skin. "Shhh," he whispered. "I know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_(clapping to the beat)_

"_Come on!_

_Does she walk, does she talk, does she come complete?_

_My homeroom homeroom angel has stole me from my seat _

_She was pure like snowflakes, _

_no one could ever stain_

_The memory of my angel_

_Could never cause me pain_

_The years go by, I'm looking through_

_A girlie magazine_

_And there's my homeroom angel in the pages in between_

_My blood runs cold, _

_my memory has just been sold!_

_My Angel in the Centerfold_

_Angel in the Centerfold!_

_My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold!_

_Angel in the Centerfold_

_Slipping notes under the desk_

_Flowers lickin' about her dress_

_I was shy I turned away_

_Before she caught my eye_

_I was shaking in my shoes_

_Whenever she flashed those baby blues!_

_Something had a hold on me_

_When an angel passed close by_

_Those soft fuzzy sweaters_

_Too magical to touch_

_To see her in them every day was a feeling just too much_

_My blood runs cold! My memory has just been sold!_

_My angel in the centerfold_

_Angel in the centerfold_

_My blood runs cold, my memory has just been sold!_

_Oh yeah!_

_Angel in the Centerfold!_

_Na na nah na na nah. Nana nah nana nah na na. Na na nah na na nah. Nana nah nana nah na na."_

Sarai, Cameron, and Lilly all bounced around Sarai's bedroom, singing at the top of their lungs with the song, when Izzie walked forced-calmly into the room. Sarai saw her first, stopping mid "Na nana na nah nah" as she watched Izzie carefully step forward, a fake smile on her face, her eyes hard.

"Hey!" Sarai squealed, running forward. "Congrats on the Mathletes thing. Cameron told us you and her made the team." She paused. "_Is_ it a team?"

Izzie stepped forward, trying to smile. "Yeah, thanks. Are you gonna come to the competition? It's in a few weeks."

It was a tribute to the girls' friendship that Sarai and Lilly smiled and said they'd make it. Reaching over to turn off the tape player, Sarai plopped down on her tie-dyed bedspread.

"So Izzie," she said. "What's up? It seems like you've been up in space lately."

Izzie set down on the bed tentatively, trying to keep the smile on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't pull that 'what do you mean' bull with us, Izzie," Lilly said, grinning loosely. "Come on. Spill."

Cameron watched her carefully from her spot leaning against the large stereo tape player, pulling at a thread from her cut-off jean shorts.

Izzie looked at the three girls back and forth. "What are you talking about," she said laughing. "I've just been busy, what with our midterms and everything coming up, and mathletes, plus I've got jazz band practice and Youth in Government will be starting soon. I've been helping my mom out, too." She smiled. "Sorry if I've seemed distant. I've just been busy."

Lilly looked at her for a second, then shrugged, turning away to start picking up some of Sarie's perfume from her dresser. "Okay. Sorry if it seemed like we were coming on really strong, we were just curious."

Izzie grinned sincerely. "Well, don't worry. My life is boring. Nothing going on."

Lilly and Cameron laughed, as Cameron pushed 'play' on Sarie's tape set. Izzie smiled, then got up to start dancing with them, not noticing Sarie watch her carefully.


End file.
